Dereck Chisora Injury: Updates on Boxing Star's Hand and Recovery

Heavyweight boxer Dereck Chisora has been forced to pull out of his scheduled bout with undefeated Brit Tyson Fury after suffering a fractured hand during his pre-fight training.

Sky Sports News first reported the story:

Chisora, 30, was looking to atone for his 2011 loss versus his countryman. Fury, 25, has not announced whether an opponent will be available in time to take Chisora's place. The hype for this rematch has been palpable, as the winner was scheduled to take home the BBBofC British, European Heavyweight and WBO Eliminator championships.

Fury, ever the promoter, was recently condemned by the British Boxing Board of Control after his foul conduct at their pre-fight press conference. The 6'9" orthodox fighter used expletives and openly derided Chisora, imploring those who didn't like his actions to "change the channel."

“This is my show, I do what I want," Fury said, per the Press Association, via The Guardian. "This is boxing, it isn’t tap-dancing. If anybody doesn’t like that they shouldn’t be here. I’m in fight mode, kill-mode. I don’t apologise, it is what it is.”

Chisora's unanimous decision loss to Fury three years ago was the first of his career but sent him on a surprising tailspin. The Zimbabwean-born Brit lost three of his four subsequent fights, including failed title chances against Vitali Klitschko and David Haye. He's since moved his way back up the rankings with five straight wins over lesser fighters, most recently American Kevin Johnson in February.

Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

Fury is one of the more promising young heavyweights in the sport. His wins have largely come against a series of middling jobbers to this point, but with 16 knockouts in his 22 professional fights, Fury has begun gaining national attention. It also helps that he's among the most outspoken boxers on the planet, calling out the likes of Wladimir Klitschko and the entire sport of MMA.

There has been no official word on how the two camps will proceed. Chisora apologized to Fury over Twitter after his injury was announced, seemingly indicating the two would go at it next month:

If the injury is minor and Fury's camp agrees, the fight could be pushed back into August. Or Chisora may be publicly posturing in an effort to keep what would assuredly be a strong pay day alive. Either way, one of boxing's marquee events of the summer has been wiped off the calendar with less than a week to restructure.